ISRO’s Chandrayaan-3 wins 2026 AIAA Goddard Astronautics Award in Washington DC

Direct fact

In May 2026, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) presented the 2026 Goddard Astronautics Award to India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission at the ASCEND 2026 conference in Washington DC, USA.

Key specifics

• Vinay Kwatra, India’s Ambassador to the United States, accepted the award on behalf of ISRO.
• Chandrayaan-3 achieved the world’s first soft landing near the Moon’s south pole on 23 August 2023.
• The award is the highest honour of the AIAA and was established in its current form in 1975.
• The award is named after Robert H. Goddard, the liquid rocket engine pioneer.
• India observes 23 August as National Space Day to mark the Chandrayaan-3 landing.

Exam lens

Science & technology award question, AIAA, Chandrayaan-3, 23 August 2023, Washington DC, National Space Day — TNPSC may ask the first soft landing near the Moon’s south pole and the award-giving body.